Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Canada’s currency posted a weekly gain as crude oil traded above $70 a barrel, gold rose and the International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for growth in the nation’s economy. The Canadian dollar, nicknamed the loonie, advanced 0.9 percent for the second-best weekly performance against the greenback among the 16 most-traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg, after South Korea’s won. Last week it was the second- worst. Government bonds gained for the week, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year note down the most since August. The loonie traded at C$1.0809 per U.S. dollar at 4:53 p.m. in Toronto, compared with C$1.0910 on Sept. 25. It rose 0.3 percent today, from C$1.0839 yesterday. One Canadian dollar buys 92.52 U.S. cents. “Commodities have been strong over the last five sessions,” said Camilla Sutton, director of currency strategy at Scotia Capital Inc. in Toronto, a unit of the nation’s third- biggest bank. “The overall position of the Canadian dollar remains unchanged,” she said, adding that it should continue trading in a range of C$1.0592 to C$1.1125, awaiting a catalyst. Canada draws more than half its export revenue from raw materials, with crude oil its biggest export. The loonie fell as much as 1.1 percent today after employers in the U.S., Canada’s biggest trade partner, cut more jobs than analysts forecast, spurring concern that economic recovery will falter. ‘Bouncing Higher’ “With stocks and oil bouncing higher now, the Canadian dollar is clawing back earlier losses,” said George Davis, chief technical analyst for fixed-income and currency strategy in Toronto at RBC Capital Markets, a unit of Canada’s largest lender. “The reversal lower has clipped a few people,” he said, referring to the U.S. dollar. American payrolls shed 263,000 positions in September, a Labor Department report showed, following a revised 201,000 decline the previous month that was less than previously reported. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey was for a loss of 175,000 jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent. Canadian employers added a net 5,000 jobs last month, after a surprise gain of 27,100 in August, a Statistics Canada report will likely show on Oct. 9, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 20 economists. The unemployment rate rose to 8.8 percent, from 8.7 percent in August, according another Bloomberg survey. IMF Forecast The nation’s economy will expand 2.1 percent in 2010, the International Monetary Fund forecast yesterday in its World Economic Outlook report, an increase from its previous forecast of 1.6 percent growth. Crude oil for November delivery jumped 5.6 percent this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange and reached as high as $71.39 a barrel. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials rose 1 percent, and gold for immediate delivery gained 1.3 percent to $1,003.38 an ounce. The government 10-year note’s yield fell 10 basis points this week, or 0.10 percentage points, to 3.26 percent. It was the biggest decline since the 14 basis-point drop in the five days ended Aug. 14. The yield rose one basis point from yesterday. The price of the 3.75 percent security maturing in June 2019 rose 83 cents on the week and decreased 4 cents today to C$104. Canada’s government bonds have lost investors 0.5 percent this year, according to a Merrill Lynch index. To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Fournier in Montreal at cfournier3@bloomberg.net

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